A Dance of Steel
by SniperCT
Summary: Korean fencers An Yuna and Pang So-Yi are rivals and equals, but their lives are changed forever when the Kaiju attack. Years of facing each other in fencing and studying each others' techniques have made them drift compatible. This is a story of their battles, both personal and against the storm.
1. Dance With Steel

Pang So-Yi is the best. At least that's what she'd say if you asked her. She's held a sword for as long as she can remember, and when she fences it's like fighting a snake. Aggressively quick strikes and reflexes like lightning. She's never been defeated, she's never lost a match. At least she hasn't until she competed for her first National title, and came head to head with An Yuna.

Yuna is steady. Where So-Yi is aggressive, she's calm. She conserves her energy and her movements, relying on precision to make up for a lack of speed. When she strikes, she knows her tip will go exactly where she means it to. She's lost, occasionally, but not often. She's seen So-Yi compete before - really, what Korean fencer hasn't? She doesn't like her. So-Yi is arrogant and emotional. She thinks she can beat her.

The sabre is a good weapon for So-Yi. In that style of fencing one can strike with the flat or edge of the blade, and combat is much faster. She faces this girl the same way she faces any other opponent. This is the last person between her and her first title. Nothing can possibly stop her... except Yuna scoring the first point. And then the second. So-Yi lands the edge of her blade on Yuna's shoulder, but the other girl scores a third point nearly immediately. Each of So-Yi's attacks leaves her vulnerable and Yuna takes advantage.

It's her first loss but in the end she makes Yuna work for it with a final score of five to four, the last point scored in the middle of a flurry of attacks. The judges have to view replays in order to decide the winner. So-Yi barely stays long enough to show good sportsmanship before she storms off on the verge of tears. The safest place is the locker room.

She throws her gear down and sits on a bench, hands balled into fists before she punches her hand into metal. Standing, she leans against the wall and lets the anger ebb out of her. There's no reason for it. She's gone over the fight ten times already and she can't think of anything else she could have done differently. She lost because the other girl had moved a fraction of a second faster. She's seen the replay. Yuna's edge had struck So-Yi's arm a tenth of a second sooner.

Luck. It was all luck.

"I'm sorry," A voice says quietly. "Am I intruding?"

So-Yi looks up to see the National Champion standing at the other end of the room. An Yuna is serious, for a girl who's just gotten one step closer to the Olympics, but there's a ghost of a smile on her lips. So-Yi closes her eyes for a moment, straightening subconsciously. "No, you're not."

Yuna nods her head towards So-Yi respectfully, then steps up to her locker. The older girl watches her, then picks up her bag and walks out without changing. Yuna rolls her eyes.

They meet again at a charity event in August. An Yuna is all but destroying the competition. Each match is over quickly and she isn't really trying but it all changes when she hears So-Yi's name. Suddenly this match matters, and from how her opponent stands, confident and poised she knows it won't be easy.

Behind her mask, So-Yi grins to herself and when the buzzer sounds she launches into such a furious attack that An Yuna nearly loses her balance. It's nearly a minute before a point is scored when So-Yi's blade digs into Yuna's shoulder. They trade points in the next few rounds until the score is three to three.

There's a commotion among the judges, and before they can start the next round the match is canceled. Yuna steps away, fuming silently. So-Yi's anger is visible on her face, but the emotion evaporates when the live video is put onto the scoreboard.

"Is this some kind of joke?" She asks. Only Yuna hears her, but the girl doesn't respond as they watch Trespasser tear through San Francisco. Yuna feels this fear inside her stomach, like ice has taken hold and will not let go. When So-Yi looks away again, her rival is gone. She looks back to the display. This isn't a movie. This is real.

Everything is different after that. The Kaiju gets taken down and the world starts to return to normal while the smart people try to figure out what that thing was. Yuna turns her fears into training. There's another Kaiju attack. And then another. Sydney nearly nukes itself into oblivious and that more than anything terrifies her. She's scared, so scared and fencing becomes her life and her escape. She focuses on reaching the Olympics, and nothing else.

It's shortly after So-Yi's fifteenth birthday that she learns who her opponent is for the last slot on the Olympic team. She and Yuna have met a few times since that charity match, and Yuna has one match on her, not counting the draw. This is important and she knows it. In the face of the Kaiju the world needs these Olympics. Even with the newly deployed Jaegers, the 2016 Olympics are going to be the most important to world morale in decades and So-Yi desperately wants to be there. Maybe she can't fight a Kaiji but she can give the world a break.

She meets Yuna in the locker room again. Except for some short exchanges, neither girl has spoken to each other since K-Day. She holds out her hand to Yuna. "You better put up a good fight. I don't want to go to Rio because you choked."

Yuna grasps So-Yi's hand. It feels like there's a charge in the air. The other girl has always rubbed her the wrong way. She's always made her feel so tense. "I do not care if you choke or not. Either way I'm going to win." Yuna has put so many obsessive hours into training that any other outcome will shatter her.

Well screw you too, So-Yi thinks, yanking her hand away. It's always so personal, and she's going to enjoy proving once and for all who's better.


	2. A Fateful Day

In the years after K-Day, both girls have gone through some radical changes. Yuna's shorn all of her hair off. She has the head for it and it quickly proved a popular look amongst girls their age. The other popular look is inspired by So-Yi's close cropped black hair. It's almost military style and her mother had pitched a fit when she'd come home like that. Among their fans is some debate as to who copied who.

Yuna likes the feel of her mask on her bare head. She's considered some tattoos. The Korean flag on the back of her head. Or maybe a Kaiji to strike fear in the hearts of her opponents. It's a silly though. The Kaiju frighten her on such an instinctual level that she knows she'll never go through with it.

She walks through the stadium with her trainer, quiet and focused. Ahead of her she can see So-Yi. The other fencer's form is well known to her by now. She's studied it endlessly. She feels like she knows So-Yi better than the older girl knows herself, and can turn that to her advantage. She's pretty sure she hates her. It's a strong word but every time she sees So-Yi it makes her blood boil and it's hard to maintain her composure. Composure is everything to Yuna.

There's a packed crowd today. But there has been at every match Yuna's attended since K-Day. She looks out at the sea of faces. A group of girls have a big sign with her name on it and are exchanging taunts with some of So-Yi's fans. Their sign is smaller she notes with a smile. It's just the buzz she needed to shake off her nerves.

When she steps up to the strip she's as calm as she ever is. Sometime in the next twenty minutes she is going to be going to the Olympics.

So-Yi takes her position, and the two stare each other down for several seconds before they bring their masks down in unison. A hush fills the stadium, and anticipation flows through the girls. The buzzer sounds and their sabres flash through the air. So-Yi parries Yuna's first attack, but takes the blade against her shoulder a moment later. They step back, ready to go again.

Yuna doesn't let herself think of anything but the arc of her sword and the path that So-Yi's takes towards her. She takes one point, then a second. So-Yi dances in front of her and they're tied again. Their weapons clang against each other as they vie for the third point and the lead. The round stretches on with neither girl gaining an advantage until So-Yi takes a risky opening and sticks Yuna in the stomach. Three-two.

Thirty seconds later, it's four-two, and Yuna is rolling her shoulders as she prepares. She tries to ignore how much she hates So-Yi right now. She's so close to seeing her hopes dashed that her anxiety could ruin it for her.

It's not the buzzer, but the sound of alarms that comes next. Over the whine of air raid sirens comes a bellow. It's a deep sound, reverberating through Yuna's chest and into her heart. She drops her saber and breaks into a run. She collides wtih So-Yi and keeps running, she sees her friends and joins them as the panicked crowd pushes through the exits.

People scream, the sirens blare and over it all the Kaiju roars again. The sound hits Yuna in a part of her mind that she can't control. The terror is overwhelming her, and she flows with the current of men and women, pushing and jostling to find some place safe. But there isn't any place, the shelters are half-finished.

Yuna looks around, searching for her parents and her sister in the chaos. It's just her and two of her friends, and a mass of strangers. She doesn't even see So-Yi.

_So-Yi_. She looks back towards the stadium, then around her. So-Yi is still inside, and the ground is already starting to shudder beneath her feet. Without thinking about it, she starts to run _back_. She hears Jee Sun shouting behind her but she ignores her friend's plee.

Above her, the Kaiju rises suddenly. It's still so far away, but it's so big, so terribly big that it's like a mountain. Blue lines run along it's flank like a tiger and it's head is gigantic, even in proportion to it's body. The snout is long, filled with jagged teeth, each one the size of a car. It bellows again, a deep primordial sound that rattles her bones. Her blood turns to ice and her legs falter, but she doesn't stop moving.

A man grabs her arm, but she shakes him off. Then she's inside the stadium. There are stragglers still but she focuses on a figure laying on the ground. It's So-Yi. Yuna rushes up to her. "So-Yi!"

The other girl stirs with a groan, and Yuna kneels down to pull her up. "Get up, get up. I'm so sorry." It felt like this was her fault. She'd run into her. She'd knocked her over. The Kaiju sounds like it was closer, it's screech reviving Yuna's panic. She start to tug harder on So-Yi shrieking and forcing the girl to her feet. "Get up!"

So-Yi shoves at Yuna, "You won't make it with me. Just go." Her grin is tired, but cocky. "We both know I was going to win. That's all I need."

"Stupid." Yuna tugs at her, and So-Yi follows without further argument. Her head is bleeding and her chest and torso hurt. Each step jars something inside her. Yuna doesn't know what's wrong. She was probably trampled and guilt starts to eat at her. If she hadn't been so terrified she wouldn't have knocked So-Yi over. She isn't even sure why she cared. Twenty minutes ago she hated her. She hates So-Yi for being so close to crushing her dreams, for always being this cocky girl who thought she was better than everyone. For being better than her. Yet now she has the girl bleeding on her and stumbling along besides her while the earth trembles and buildings come crashing down behind them.

They're three hundred meters ahead of the stadium when the Kaiju hits it. Yuna looks back in time to watch it collapse. The Kaiju is monstrous, and close, too close, closer than she ever wanted to be to one. She can barely stretch her neck up enough to take it all on. She remembers all the pamphlets and the drills. Never run, never give the Kaiju something to follow and crush and probably eat.

So she does the one thing she doesn't want to do. She slows down. Her heart feels like it's going to beat through her ribcage, and she feels So-Yi's grip around her tighten. There isn't any obvious shelter. Being in the open is inviting the Kaiju's attention but most buildings are little more than deathtraps.

"There," So-Yi rasps, her voice loud in Yuna's ear. She wants to tell her to shut up, but instead starts to half-drag So-Yi towards a concrete barricade. It's not much, in fact it's hardly anything at all, but the only alternative is to let the Kaiju see them. Yuna doesn't know what happens if a Kaiju decides it wants a girl-sized snack and she doesn't want to find out.

Besides, her legs are giving out and she slides down the barrier with So-Yi as her fear catches her again. She doesn't let it win. Not with the other fencer here. So Yuna puts on a brave face, and looks down at So-Yi, who's curled in against her. She puts her arm around her and holds tightly, trying to still the shaking of her body. She's just glad she's not alone.

So-Yi looks up at Yuna, still not understanding why the girl came back for her. No one else did, something she didn't want to think about right now. The Kaiju bellows and shrieks, crashing into a skyscraper and uprooting it from it's foundation. It teeters over as gravity claims it. The dust washed over them like a wave and it's all Yuna can do to shield So-Yi from it.

After their coughing fits subside, So-Yi presses her mouth to Yuna's ear again. "I'm sorry."

Yuna feels a confusing shiver down her spine that she mistakes for the adrenaline and fear of the moment. "For what?" Her body has stopped shaking. She doesn't have the energy left to sustain it.

"I'm going to get you killed. You should just leave me." Despite her words, So-Yi is clinging to Yuna. She's profoundly grateful, in ways she'll never be able to express. The Olympics, their rivalry, all of that seems so very unimportant right now.

"Stupid," Yuna says. "I would club you one if you weren't already hurt."

The creature roars, terribly close and So-Yi burrows her face into Yuna's neck. "God why won't it shut up! Shut up shut up I can't…"

Yuna realizes she isn't the only scared one. That So-Yi is terrified too. She feels better. "Shh! Do you hear that?"

A whistling sound, growing louder, and louder until it sounds like the rushing of wind. Twin missiles impact the Kaiju in it's face and the explosion shatters what little glass remains intact nearby. Debris cuts up Yuna's back, jagged shocks of pain shooting through her body. Jets scream overhead as they unleash another barrage, drawing the Kaiju away from the heart of the city. Something else moves through the smoke and dust

So-Yi sees the shadow first and gasps, "_Jaeger!_"

It rises like a behemoth, built like a boxer. Yuna thinks it looks like someone has capped it with an upside down cup, but as it charges into the Kaiju she doesn't care. The Jaeger brings it's fist down into the monster's jaw and the sound of the collision wakes something inside her.

Yuna squeezes So-Yi's hand in a tight grip. She looks at the bald girl for a moment. The fear is still in her eyes, but now she looks determined. Like she's reached some kind of decision, and as the Jaeger grapples with the Kaiju, So-Yi makes the exact same one.


	3. White Out

Muscle ache has become something ignorable. So-Yi is so used to it by now that that she can push it to the back of her mind. Every day up at the crack of dawn. It's still dark as she rolls out of bed, rubbing her hand along a crick in her neck. Her roommate is still asleep, and she takes a moment to look at her. To _really_ look at her. It stirs up a complicated mixture of emotions that she doesn't really understand.

They'd fought the night before, and the bruise on Yuna's face makes So-Yi cringe. She knows she doesn't look much better, and neither had called the other out in front of their CO, but she still feels _guilty_. To be fair Yuna had swung first (and she'd never expected to get the girl to react like that), but they were supposed to be partners. Friends.

So-Yi grabs her kit and shuffles out of their dorm and across to the showers. She looks at herself in the mirror - her left eye is swollen and there's a cut on her cheek from Yuna's ring. She looks down at her own knuckles, skin scraped and bruised, then wipes at it. She's suddenly scared. If they can't get along outside of the drift what'll happen when they go into it? She isn't sure they'll even be allowed back into the training cage.

It's been a month of grueling exercise in the Siberian cold. She is so tired of being cold, so tired of having everything she says and does judged. She always feels like she's left wanting. After so long being a star she's just another recruit and it grates on her nerves.

Carefully, she dabs cover-up over her eye, then pulls out her electric razor. Her hair has grown out and it makes her head feel heavy and lopsided. The feel of the blades moving through her hair is cathartic, and as she shaves, she feels more and more herself, until her hair is cropped close.

Yuna appears over her shoulder, and the two look at each other via the mirror. So-Yi's jumps when Yuna puts her hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry."

"It's nothing. I'm sorry." She puts her razor down and runs her hands through her hair as Yuna pulls out an old fashioned razor. She watches the other girl moves the blade over her scalp..

Yuna is started when So-Yi reaches up to rub her scalp. "For luck. And… About what I said last night..."

Yuna returns the gesture, enjoying the way So-Yi's fuzz feels under the palm of her hand.

"It's nothing," she says, looking away. So-Yi knows it's not nothing. She still remembers the hurt in Yuna's eyes and she still remembers how dirty her mouth felt when the words had spilled out.

She tries again. "It wasn't fair. You can make out with whoever you want. I just don't understand-"

Yuna slams her palms against the sink, visibly angry and So-Yi shuts up. Yuna tries to calm herself, tries to slow her breathing. "If you do not understand then you need to keep your fucking mouth shut."

She pushes So-Yi out of the way. It's going to be one of those days, So-Yi decides. She finishes up and then returns to their bunk. Yuna is changing, and So-Yi stares at her back. She swallows, and steps up to her footlocker, pulling out her PPDC greens, her warmest socks, and her thick jacket. The room with the cage isn't heated, the natural cold the best means to keep the machines cooled, which means it is always freezing. The worst part is the time it takes to get into the drivesuits. She can't wear her jacket while they do that and she can't take it with her into the cage. At least they'll work up a sweat.

Yuna dresses as warmly, complete with a white scarf her mother knitted. She glances at So-Yi and if she's noticed the other girl's staring she says nothing about it. They walk in silence to the control room adjacent to the cage to wait for their turn.

Heavy footsteps approach, and So-Yi glances at the door as a tall, broad shouldered man steps in. His hair is bleached blonde and he towers over them like a skyscraper. The man is intimidating. Yuna always finds it impossible to meet his eyes. They're intense. They're _scary_. Aleksis Kaidanovsky is the second scariest person she's ever met and she still doesn't know what his first name actually is, as she's heard his wife call him both Aleksis and Sasha. She's pretty sure the Russians like to keep everyone confused as to who is who. She only knows that together they're terrifying.

He looks at the recruits in the room, then barks. "Pang, An. With me." He turns, not bothering to see if they follow. Both girls fall into step behind them after sparing a glance at the other recruits. The general expression everyone is giving them isn't much different from a wake.

So-Yi glances at Yuna, wondering if this is about their fight. She clasps her hands behind her back and straightens her shoulders. This is her co-pilot's fault, she decides. If Yuna hadn't been kissing that girl from the Loccent then she wouldn't have freaked out and said a bunch of things she'd regretted, and Yuna wouldn't have hit her, and she wouldn't have hit Yuna back.

She focuses her eyes on the man's back. Despite how cold it is he's just wearing a green military t-shirt and his muscles ripple underneath it. It should have more of an effect on her than it does and that fact bothers her more than it should. She looks at Yuna, then straight ahead again.

They're led outside. A storm is brewing, snow blasting around them and obscuring the horizon. All Yuna can see is white.

They stop in front of an old helicopter. A woman steps out. She's wearing the exact same clothing as Aleksis, and they share the same hair cut. The two exchange a nod, and Sasha turns to face the two girls. When they stand next to each other it's like the man fades into the background despite his height. Sasha is the real force to be reckoned with, and So-Yi feels something tighten in her stomach. She's so distracted she nearly misses what Sasha is saying.

"-be flown to observe a Jaeger in operation."

Yuna's jaw nearly hits the ground, and she looks at So-Yi, then the Russians in confusion. "I'm sorry? We haven't even drifted yet."

Sasha jerks her head towards the chopper, as though she were going to ignore any bullshit from recruits. "Get in."

Yuna's feet are moving before she even realizes what's going on. She climbs into the vehicle, So-Yi right behind her. She looks at the other girl as the door slides shut, then reaches to take her hand.

So-Yi looks at Yuna, then at their hands, but doesn't let go. It's progress from this morning, and she leans in, whispering. "I'm still sorry."

"Shut up about it." Yuna lets go of her hand, and looks out the window.

This will be the first time either of them has seen a Jaeger up close since the day of the attack, and Yuna won't even talk to her for more than a few sentences. So-Yi grits her teeth and wishes she'd hit her harder. The worse part is that Sasha is watching them.

The flight shouldn't take long. As far as she knows the Jaeger isn't that far away but the wind buffets the chopper and she keeps bumping into Yuna. She wants to ask, but one look at the Russian and she clams up.

After twenty minutes, Sasha gets up, and slides the door open. Snow blows in and So-Yi immediately starts shivering. This time she has to ask. "What's going on?"

"You jump." Sasha shoves a pack into each of their arms. "Work together. Make it back to the Shatterdome. Only then you drift. You don't jump, you go home."

The girls exchange a look. Yuna squares her shoulders and juts her jaw out at Sasha. "That's suicide."

"The snow drifts will catch you."

The Kaidanovskys already had kills. They piloted a first generation Jaeger, the very same one that So-Yi and Yuna had witnessed in Seoul. They owe them their lives. Now they could determine their future.

So-Yi makes the decision. She pulls the pack on, and moves towards the door. "I won't run." She doesn't look, but she feels Yuna join her.

"Good." Sasha unceremoniously shoves them out of the helicopter.


	4. Cold Comfort

The first thing Yuna notices is how blind she is. It's white everywhere and it's So-Yi that helps her orient herself. She clings to the other girl, but it's impossible to get their bearings in the white out. Yuna fumbles for her pack. There's a GPS and they can at least figure out which direction they need to go in.

"We need to get moving," Yuna shouts, trying to be heard over the wind. It buffets at her body and she fears that she'll be lifted off and thrown into the snow. She'd never find her way alone, and her fingers grip So-Yi's arm tighter.

"No! We need to stay put until this passes! If we try to move we'll just walk around in circles and die." So-Yi tries to pull Yuna towards what she thinks is a rocky outcropping. When they'd first arrived in Siberia they'd been put through survival training, so she knew how to make shelter, she hopes. But Yuna resists, digging her heels in.

"We can find our way." She pulls her co-pilot to a halt, pulling her close enough that they don't have to shout. She shouts anyway. "Get your head out of your ass, So-Yi! I need you to trust me!"

She wonders, for a moment if all this was a mistake. How could they be compatible with each other when they'd spent so long hating each other? How can she let this girl into her head. So-Yi had reacted so badly to catching her with Ilyana that she maybe she doesn't want her in her head anymore. She doesn't want to see how disgusted So-Yi might be, or for So-Yi to see what she keeps so tightly locked away in her own skull.

The storm picks up again, but So-Yi's eyes are locked on Yuna's. Finally she says, "Okay." She pulls a rope out of her pack and fastens it around her waist, then turns Yuna around to do the same to her.

It's slow going. Yuna with the GPS and So-Yi tightly gripping the map. The terrain is rugged, the hills filled with trees and valleys and rocky crags. The GPS gives them direction, but it's the map that keeps them from killing themselves with an unlucky turn.

Yuna's fingers are frozen stiff, and each step is a chore. She pushes herself onward by thinking of the effort it'll take to move the legs of her Jaeger. Their Jaeger, if they can just get through this. And through the drift. Behind her she sees So-Yi keeping up. She slows, then syncs her legs to So-Yi's. Right, and then left, and then right, and for some reason it feels like they move faster, even though that's not likely. According to Yuna's watch, they've been in the snow four hours, and yet they've barely moved a mile. She closes her eyes to focus, just as the ground disappears underfoot.

Before So-Yi knows what's happening, Yuna has disappeared. The line between them goes taut and she's yanked off her feet. She tumbles through the snow, down an incline and only stops when she hits a snowdrift in the trees. "Yuna?" Dazed, she follows the rope, finding the other girl prone. She rolls Yuna over, and feels her stir in her arms. She pats Yuna's cheek. "Wake up. Please wake up. I _need_ you."

"Maybe you were right," Yuna murmurs, her cheeks red not entirely from the cold. She pushes herself up by her elbows. "We can't keep going like this. We need shelter."

"Can you walk?" So-Yi runs her hands down Yuna's legs, searching for a break. Nothing seems wrong and she helps Yuna to her feet. Neither girl says anything else as they push through the snow. There are numerous outcroppings and caves here, and as long as they don't stumble into a bear's den they should be safe.

What they do find barely qualifies as a hole in the rock, but it's empty and blocks most of the wind. So-Yi packs snow in like a wall in the gaps and throws her pack on the ground. Yuna just slides to her knees, exhausted. She looks up at So-Yi. "We're supposed to work together, I think we're failing this exercise."

"It was easier when we just fenced," So-Yi says as she sits next to Yuna, giving her a tired smile. She scoots closer, huddling for warmth. Life was so much simpler then, when the only thing that mattered was beating the other girl. Being on opposite sides, instead of the same side.

Now, the rest of their lives are going to be determined by how they handle this challenge. They don't even have the materials necessary to start a fire, and So-Yi peers out into the storm, wondering if any of the trees are dry enough to be useful.

Yuna leans her head on So-Yi's shoulder, and watches the girl root through their packs. So-Yi finds some warming pouches. She slides one into each of their boots. That leaves two to share between takes both, then unzips So-Yi's jacket. She presses both against her stomach then snuggles in close with her arms inside the other girl's jacket.

So-Yi's heart pounds, but she rests her hands between the two of them to keep them warm. They sit in silence as the blizzard rages around them.

So-Yi's voice is so quiet that Yuna has to strain to hear her. "I've always been able to understand you. I know what drives you. What you focus on. Except lately I can't figure you out, and if we're going to pilot a Jaeger together the thought that I don't understand you scares me so much. And the way it all makes me feel makes it so hard for me to understand myself."

She's confused, and praying that Yuna has an answer that makes sense.

Yuna's suddenly very aware of the warmth of So-Yi's skin beneath her shirt. "I was going to tell you I was gay before we drifted. I didn't want it to be a surprise, but I didn't want you to find out..that way."

"Oh." So-Yi rests her chin on Yuna's head. She doesn't know what to say to that. Or how she still wanted to apologize for the things she'd said. "I'm such a bitch."

"Yes," Yuna sniffles. "You were, but that doesn't…" She trails off. If they survive this they'll be in each others' heads and So-Yi will know anyway. She sighs, "I forgive you."

Now So-Yi _really_ didn't understand. Yuna's closeness felt so good, but she doesn't know if the girl wanted more than that or it was just the warmth they needed to survive, and she suddenly wants to know what kissing someone feels like, but no one at the Shatterdome really appeals to her, her reaction to Sasha Kaidanovsky not withstanding. Oh.

"I was jealous."

"What?" Yuna lifts her head, lifting her eyes towards So-Yi's. "Of what?"

So-Yi just shakes her head. She doesn't even know for sure and maybe Yuna can tell her once they've drifted. She's not scared. How bad could it be? Sure, there are some nerves, and now this new...whatever this is between then. "I don't really know. Maybe because you found someone. It's the apocalypse, we should all find someone."

"I have," Yuna says, her fingers tracing patterns on So-Yi's stomach. The other girl takes her hand and their fingers thread together. Her heart starts _hammering_.

"Yeah." So-Yi pulls Yuna's head in and tucks it under her chin, her lips warm against the smoothness of Yuna's scalp. "Get some sleep, I'll wake you in a few hours."

Yuna's dreams are fitful, filled with the scream of a Kaiju and the feel of So-Yi cradled in her arms. She barely feels rested when she's roused, and in her groggy state she clings a little too tightly. She barely catches herself, turning her face at the last possible moment to kiss So-Yi on the jaw instead of the mouth.

So-Yi doesn't say anything, though her body is tense and the skin of her jaw burns. She decides that she's so tired that she just imagined what almost happened, and nuzzles in when Yuna pulls her head down against her chest. It's easier than facing the truth.

With the storm cleared, the girls make better time. So-Yi is content to pretend that nothing unusual happened in that cave and Yuna is happy to go along with the ruse. Her emotions for the girl are complicated, but she stopped hating her a long time ago. Sometimes she wishes she still did because everything would be simpler. She's not afraid when she's with So-Yi. At least, she's not afraid of anything but her feelings.

It's mid-day when the Shatterdome comes into view. One of the bay doors is open and Yuna can just barely make out the hulking shape of Cherno Alpha as he's deployed. She looks at So-Yi. "I don't remember there being an exercise scheduled, do you?"

"No," So-Yi say's, reaching for Yuna's hand. "Kaiju.".

Spurred on by urgency, they reach the Shatterdome by nightfall. Cherno still hasn't returned, and they rush to the mess to find out what's going on. One of the pit crew for Eden Assassin spots them. "Girls! You lived! I owe Sasha a steak." He's a wirey man, shorter than Yuna but with enough energy to power three Jaegers if they could only tap into it. So-Yi nearly falls over when he claps his hands on their backs. "Cherno and Romeo Blue intercepted a Cat Four!"

Yuna feels a chasm of fear open up in her stomach. "But there haven't been many Category Fours. This is the second in a row."

"Sasha bet on us?" So-Yi asks, focusing on what was more important to her than the size of any Kaiju. That's a _much_ bigger deal as far as she's concerned.

"Yeah, everyone was expecting you to be gone longer. She told me she expected you back before Cherno." Which they'd done. The Korean girls both beam, the stress of their experience forgotten at least for the moment.

By the time they've changed, been looked over by doctors and had a warm meal, Cherno Alpha has returned. So-Yi watches the behemoth as he's moved back into place. There are angry tears in the shoulder and the false head looks like it's been chewed on by a gigantic dog, but Cherno is a tough bastard. She's sure the Kaiju looks worse.

"So-Yi." She looks up at the sound of Yuna's voice. The other girl is just in a green tank and brown cargo pants, but she's suddenly noticing the subtle curves of the other girl's body and the way the cold affects it.

She averts her eyes. "Yeah?"

"They want us to drift."

"Now?" So-Yi jumps to her feet. She's torn between excitement and fear. Bouncing on her heels she takes a few breaths to calm her excitement.

"We've had long enough to rest." Yuna sounds stiff, and she looks it too. She's been preparing her mind since she found out, and she doesn't think that she's had enough time for it yet. "So-Yi, I don't know if I'm ready to let anyone into my head."

The traces of fear in the normal stoic girl's voice and on her face sobers So-Yi. She takes Yuna's hands. "I'm scared too. We used to hate each other so much and there are times I wanted to hit you. And...yeah." She touches the bruise on Yuna's cheek. "I'm still sorry. But...water under the bridge? Why are we talking when we'll _know_ in twenty minutes? We'll be okay."

In twenty minutes, So-Yi is going to be in Yuna's head. And Yuna will be in hers. The things So-Yi had said to her weren't forgotten and no matter how much the girl apologized, it still hurt. But there's no going back now.


	5. Floating in the Drift

So-Yi isn't ready for it. Nothing can prepare her for the swirling tempest of their combined memories. It buffets her and threatens to drown her. She's still exhausted from their time in the snow, she just has to stop herself chasing the RABIT.

_The Foil is dull and tipped with a solid ball, little Yuna bouncing around and swinging the sword around. Already she has the grace, she's spent so much time glued to the tv, watching the matches. So-Yi laughing, ignoring the taunts because she knows she's going to be the best, and there's no one that can beat her. Yuna in her first professional match, victorious. _

_The first time Yuna faced So-Yi how much of a brat she thought the other girl was. Their subsequent match ups whirling through their minds like a dance of steel the Kaiju and So-Yi for the first time understands the terror Yuna feels. Yuna going back for her So-Yi looking up at Yuna a kernel of attraction. The bond that forms the pressure of the Ranger Corps the way Yuna can't get So-Yi out of her head the way So-Yi feels so terrible about what she'd said._

So-Yi inhales deeply as the present reasserts itself. The simulator creeks around them. Over the comm she hears the operator report the neural handshake is strong and holding. Yuna looks at her, and she looks back, mirroring the movement. So-Yi is too shocked to speak.

"Left Hemisphere is ready," Yuna says, hoping to break her partner out of it. She's expecting disgust, but that's not what she's getting. Confusion. Okay, she can live with that, especially with what she feels from So-Yi.

The other girl nods her head, and in unison they move their arms. On the readout, the simulator shows the Jaeger moving in sync with them. So-Yi feels a surge of giddiness. "Right hemisphere is ready! Looking good! Ready to deploy!"

Of course there is nothing to deploy. Not yet. They are weeks, if not months away from their first drop in a real Jaeger. Right now they get their first taste in a simulator. So-Yi doesn't know why they've skipped solo drops and she doesn't really care. They're doing it! They're going to do it!

Over the comm she hears Sasha's voice and as always it makes her feel funny. "Category three Kaiju, Diamondback. It has slipped past ten mile marker and is nearing shore. Intercept and destroy."

The girls exchange glances, and some of the questions they have for each other have to go unanswered.

"One foot in front of the other," Yuna murmurs. She's not sure if she even said it aloud, or if she hears So-Yi's response with her ears or her head.

They move their simulated Jaeger through the ocean, towards a gigantic swell in the water. Sonar tells them the size and shape of the beast, and LOCCENT feeds them a constant stream of data. So-Yi feels momentarily overwhelmed.

"Let your partner share the load," Sasha warns over the intercomm. "Do not try to assimilate the data all by yourself. Work together. This is a partnership, a dance, not a competition."

So-Yi's crush on the Russian is now more obvious to Yuna than to So-Yi herself, but she puts aside her jealousy. "We've got this. So-Yi, lets see what this thing can do."

The Kaiju surges forward, and the Jaeger picks up speed as it charges towards them. The girls don't know their own quirks yet, they don't have a feel for how their machine is supposed to move. But it's fast and agile, just like them.

The pod shakes and rolls as the Kaiju crashes into them. Yuna buries her terror deep. As one they grapple with the monster, twisting around and smashing it into the shore. Here's where their fighting styles clash. So-Yi wants to rush in and pound at it, use their agility to their advantage. Yuna wants to hold back, make the Kaiju tire itself out and lure it back into the water.

_Trust me_.

The Jaeger approaches the Kaiju, which bellows it's fury at them. They keep their distance, forcing it to lunge at them. When it does, the girls strike, Yuna's calm approach balancing So-Yi's aggression.

It's their first drop, but it only gets harder from there. Missions near cities. In cities. Learn to minimize the damage, learn to work together. They still call out orders and ideas, but they often act on the before the words even leave their mouths.

After six drops there's still a wall between them. Yuna feels it, as she stares across a seemingly vast gulf between them. She in her bunk and So-Yi in hers. The other girl, her hair in need of a shave again, rolls onto her side and looks back at Yuna.

No amount of experience inside So-Yi's head can tell Yuna what her co-pilot is thinking. She watches the girl slip out of bed and cross the small space between their beds.

So-Yi looks down at her. She kneels on the bed, and pushes Yuna down against the pillows. She doesn't understand what she's feeling, only that maybe if she kisses Yuna it will make everything make sense.

She doesn't get to find out. The intercomm comes alive with their names.

"An Yuna and Pang So-Yi report to bay five for Jaeger assignment."


End file.
